Department for Transport

Rolling Stock: Procurement

Lord Bradshaw: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Kramer on 13 February (HL4676), what is the difference in the total volume of luggage space in an InterCity Express train saloon and the current Mk4 carriages in use on the East Coast Main Line.

Baroness Kramer: The provision for luggage in the InterCity Express Programme, passenger saloon has 2 x luggage stacks as well as a overhead luggage shelf, which compares favourably with the current Mk4. The InterCity Express interiors, including luggage provision, have been designed flexibly so they can be changed to meet changing market requirements.

Railways

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the progress on resignalling the Cardiff Area Signalling Renewal, the Great Western Route Modernisation, and the Oxford-Didcot resignalling projects.

Baroness Kramer: The Great Western Route Modernisation programme, including these resignalling and electrification projects, is central to our ambitious plans to transform the rail network, providing faster and more reliable journeys and helping to secure long-term economic growth. Network Rail is working hard to deliver the modernisation of the Great Western in order to achieve the outcomes outlined in the Rail Investment Strategy. We are working closely with Network Rail and the Office of Rail Regulation to ensure successful delivery.

Rolling Stock

Lord Berkeley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what contingency plans they have in place for ensuring sufficient diesel-powered passenger rolling stock in areas where electrification and modernised signalling is planned to be introduced but is likely to be delayed.

Baroness Kramer: The rolling stock market is a private sector one and the Government is committed to giving greater flexibility to the market to deliver innovative rolling stock solutions to the benefit of the passenger and the taxpayer. For example, as part of the Northern franchise competition, the Invitation to Tender, published on 27 February 2015, requires bidders to deliver 120 new carriages suitable for use on non-electrified routes. It will be for bidders to determine how to meet this requirement.

Home Office

Slavery

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to address concerns that the Modern Slavery Bill in its current form does not provide compensation for victims of modern slavery.

Lord Bates: The Government takes the issue of compensation for victims of modern slavery very seriously. That is why the Modern Slavery Bill introduces a new kind of bespoke Reparation Order which will enable the courts to ensure that more money from convicted slave drivers goes directly to their victims. Where the perpetrator has assets available, as evidenced by a Confiscation Order, the court will have to consider making a Reparation Order to provide reparation to the victim for the harm that they have suffered and give reasons if it does not.The Modern Slavery Bill will also make both modern slavery offences - slavery, servitude and forced or compulsory labour and human trafficking - "criminal lifestyle" offences. This will mean those that commit these heinous crimes are subject to the most robust confiscation regime available under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.This will help law enforcement and the courts recover assets from these criminals and so should increase the money collected and available to be distributed to victims.

Mohammed Emwazi

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the abolition of control orders and Mohammed Emwazi's evasion of British security services and departure from the United Kingdom.

Lord Bates: The Home Office does not routinely comment on individual cases.Prosecution and conviction are always our preference for dealing with terrorists. Following the increase in the threat level last summer by the independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre and discussions with operational partners, the Prime Minister announced in another place (Commons Hansard, 1 September 2014, co.23-27) the Government’s intention to introduce several new measures to disrupt attempted travel for terrorism-related purposes and dealing decisively with terrorism suspects already here.The Counter Terrorism and Security Act 2015 received Royal Assent last month, providing the legislative basis for a suite of enhanced measures to tackle the threat posed to this country, including:• providing the police with a power to seize a passport at the border temporarily, during which time they will be able to investigate the individual concerned.• creating a Temporary Exclusion Order that can temporarily disrupt the return to the UK of a British citizen suspected of involvement in terrorist activity abroad.• modifications to the existing TPIM regime, introducing the possibility for relocation and enhancing the safeguards around this power.• improving law enforcement agencies’ ability to identify who is responsible for sending a communication on the internet or accessing an internet communications service.• enhancing our border security for aviation, maritime and rail travel, with provisions relating to passenger data, ‘no fly’ lists, security and screening measures.• creating a general duty on a range of organisations to prevent people being drawn into terrorism;• putting Channel – the government’s voluntary programme for people vulnerable to being drawn into terrorism – on a statutory basis.These measures are designed to enhance the powers already available to the police and Security Service to keep this country safe.

Thailand

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they sought assurances from the government of Thailand that a death sentence would not be imposed upon the men accused of the murder of Hannah Witheridge and David Miller prior to the provision of evidence by United Kingdom police forces; and why the Foreign and Commonwealth Office declined to comment to The Guardian on that issue.

Lord Bates: The Home Office provided a specific authorisation to UK police officers for assistance to be provided overseas to the Royal Thai Police should it be requested and conditional upon assurances regarding the death penalty being received where required. No such assistance was requested or given under or by virtue of that authorisation. Police to police co-operation in accordance with published guidance, on any other basis, is an operational matter for the relevant police forces. It is inappropriate for Her Majesty's Government to publicly comment upon ongoing criminal investigations or prosecutions.

Asylum: Syria

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to review their resettlement policy for Syrian refugees in the light of the number who are continuing to seek refuge.

Lord Bates: The Government is deeply concerned about the crisis in Syria, the suffering and hardship it is causing for millions of displaced Syrians in the region, and the strain it is placing on their host countries. Given the scale of the crisis, we believe the most effective way to ensure the UK’s help has the greatest impact for displaced people and their host countries is through substantial humanitarian aid and actively seeking an end to the conflict so that refugees can return to their homes and livelihoods safely. We have committed £800 million in response to the crisis, making us the second largest bilateral donor in the world, and UK funding is helping to support hundreds of thousands of displaced people in the region, providing food, healthcare and essential supplies. Compared with aid, resettlement can only ever help a minority of those in need.However, we launched the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Relocation (VPR) scheme to complement our humanitarian aid efforts by offering protection in the UK to some of the most vulnerable refugees, who cannot be supported effectively in the region. The scheme is based on need rather than fulfilling a quota, but we have said that we expect it to help several hundred people over three years, and we remain on track to deliver that commitment. We therefore have no current plans to change the way the scheme operates. However, we continue to monitor the situation in Syria and the surrounding region and work closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to identify the most vulnerable people displaced by the conflict to ensure that the scheme remains responsive to need.

Ketamine

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what negotiating position they are adopting at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs on imminent proposals to restrict the supply and use of ketamine.

Lord Bates: The Coalition Government does not believe that controlling ketamine internationally is appropriate. It could result in reduced access to a substance listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation and widely used as an anaesthetic in low and middle income countries. We will be adopting this position at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.However, we are determined to clamp down on the illegal misuse of ketamine, which leaves young people in the UK hospitalised with serious bladder and kidney damage every year.To prevent its misuse, we have made ketamine a Class B drug and taken action to ensure its availability for health and veterinary care in the UK is properly regulated.

Developing Countries: Ketamine

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of restrictions on the supply and use of ketamine on people living in the most rural areas of developing countries with no alternative anaesthetic for surgical procedures.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have held with the British Medical Association, Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, the Royal College of Anaesthetists and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists about the potential impact on the world’s rural poor of restrictions on the availability of ketamine.

Lord Bates: Ketamine is widely used as an anaesthetic in low and middle income countries. The Coalition Government believes that it is inappropriate to control ketamine internationally as it could result in reduced access to a substance listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation. We will be adopting this position at the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.However, we are determined to clamp down on the illegal misuse of ketamine, which is why we have made ketamine a Class B drug and taken action to ensure its availability for health and veterinary care in the UK is properly regulated.We continue to discuss our concerns over the impact of international control with a range of civil society groups and professional bodies, including bodies representing anaesthetists.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

European Union

Baroness Quin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the total cost of the Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and its associated agencies, broken down by (1) staff time, (2) printing costs, (3) running of engagement events, (4) witness expenses, (5) publicity of the reports, and (6) any and all other associated costs.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 19 February 2015.The correct answer should have been:

As you will be aware, the Balance of Competences Review concluded in December. It was the most comprehensive analysis of the UK’s relationship with the EU ever undertaken. The review involved a large number of Departments across Whitehall to produce 32 reports. The Review was based on the evidence and views received through widespread consultation with interested parties from across society. Across the whole review, departments received close to 2,300 evidence submissions. Departments held over 250 events, attended by around 2,100 stakeholders.   It was important that what is an unprecedented examination of EU membership was done with appropriate time and care. But the government is also very conscious of the need to ensure value for money in everything it does.   (1) Staff time Between 2012-2013, the Balance of Competences Review Team in the Department was staffed by the equivalent of one Grade 7 (salary range £47, 545 - £55,882), and one intern (salary range £23,869 – £27, 281) dedicating 100% of their time to the review to project manage 7 BIS led reports and 1 joint report. Between 2013 – 2014 this was reduced to one Grade 7. Between 2012 – 2014 one Deputy Director (salary range £62,000 - £117,800) dedicated 20% of their time as the senior reporting officer for the review. All other work on the review was allocated, according to need, to existing staff within the Department. Therefore, providing a full breakdown of staff time and costs would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.   (2) Printing costs   Printing and publication for the 8 Departmental reports, was coordinated centrally but paid for by the Department, with the exception of the Single Market Report which was printed in-house. Printing and publication costs for all 8 reports totalled £32,821.94. The costs for all 32 reports was £133, 053  This figure was a partial figure, covering the printing of some, but not all, reports across the whole review. (3) Running of Engagement events   Each policy team in the Department held a wide range of engagement events over the 2 years; the department did not incur any costs for the running of these events. The facilities for hosting these events were either provided by other Government Departments or by business partners or were held on department premises at no extra cost to the department.(4) WitnessFrom centrally held figures, we understand that across the whole of the Balance of Competences Review witness expenses amounted to approximately £2,255.00.   (5) Publicity   The Department did not incur any publicity costs as we published the reports and the call for evidence via email, social media and the Government website.   (6) All other associated costs   Between 2012 – 2014 the Department commissioned research and analysis to form part of the literature review to provide the reports with legal analysis to ensure the reports were neither too analytical or too speculative and political, but instead adhere to the agreed treaties. The cost for all 8 reports was £108, 738.28.   Department officials incurred some additional associated costs due to travel to meetings and stakeholder events in the UK. Some officials also incurred costs related to events in Brussels. We estimate that the additional travel costs incurred amounted to less than £300.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: As you will be aware, the Balance of Competences Review concluded in December. It was the most comprehensive analysis of the UK’s relationship with the EU ever undertaken. The review involved a large number of Departments across Whitehall to produce 32 reports. The Review was based on the evidence and views received through widespread consultation with interested parties from across society. Across the whole review, departments received close to 2,300 evidence submissions. Departments held over 250 events, attended by around 2,100 stakeholders.   It was important that what is an unprecedented examination of EU membership was done with appropriate time and care. But the government is also very conscious of the need to ensure value for money in everything it does.   (1) Staff time Between 2012-2013, the Balance of Competences Review Team in the Department was staffed by the equivalent of one Grade 7 (salary range £47, 545 - £55,882), and one intern (salary range £23,869 – £27, 281) dedicating 100% of their time to the review to project manage 7 BIS led reports and 1 joint report. Between 2013 – 2014 this was reduced to one Grade 7. Between 2012 – 2014 one Deputy Director (salary range £62,000 - £117,800) dedicated 20% of their time as the senior reporting officer for the review. All other work on the review was allocated, according to need, to existing staff within the Department. Therefore, providing a full breakdown of staff time and costs would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.   (2) Printing costs   Printing and publication for the 8 Departmental reports, was coordinated centrally but paid for by the Department, with the exception of the Single Market Report which was printed in-house. Printing and publication costs for all 8 reports totalled £32,821.94. The costs for all 32 reports was £133, 053  This figure was a partial figure, covering the printing of some, but not all, reports across the whole review. (3) Running of Engagement events   Each policy team in the Department held a wide range of engagement events over the 2 years; the department did not incur any costs for the running of these events. The facilities for hosting these events were either provided by other Government Departments or by business partners or were held on department premises at no extra cost to the department.(4) WitnessFrom centrally held figures, we understand that across the whole of the Balance of Competences Review witness expenses amounted to approximately £2,255.00.   (5) Publicity   The Department did not incur any publicity costs as we published the reports and the call for evidence via email, social media and the Government website.   (6) All other associated costs   Between 2012 – 2014 the Department commissioned research and analysis to form part of the literature review to provide the reports with legal analysis to ensure the reports were neither too analytical or too speculative and political, but instead adhere to the agreed treaties. The cost for all 8 reports was £108, 738.28.   Department officials incurred some additional associated costs due to travel to meetings and stakeholder events in the UK. Some officials also incurred costs related to events in Brussels. We estimate that the additional travel costs incurred amounted to less than £300.

Consumer Goods

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 26 February (HL4989), what are the terms of reference for the review of unsafe product recall; what is the name of the chair of the review; and what is its timescale.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: I refer the Noble Lady to my previous answer on 26 February.

Ministry of Justice

Prisons: Libraries

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is (1) the average number of visits, and (2) the average length of visits, by prisoners to libraries, in each prison establishment in England and wales, in each month of the last three years.

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many prisoners were able, and were not able, in accordance with PSI 45/2011, for the mandatory 30 minutes every two weeks in each month since that regulation came into force, to access the library in each prison establishment in England and Wales.

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government on how many occasions access to the prison library in accordance with PSI 45/2011 has been restricted due to lack of staff available to escort prisoners (1) in total, and (2) for each prison in England and Wales, in each of the last three years.

Lord Faulks: Prison libraries play a positive role in supporting rehabilitation and resettlement through offering a range of resources and activities, including literacy and reader development work. However, information about the average number and length of visits to prison libraries, and the extent to which prisoners had access to the library, is not held centrally and would need to be collated through enquiries at every prison. This would incur disproportionate cost.

Sexual Offences

Lord Morrow: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the pilot projects in five regions in England on the use of polygraph tests on sex offenders who are being managed in the community.

Lord Faulks: In April 2009 the National Offender Management Service commenced a pilot of mandatory polygraph examinations on sexual offenders in nine former Probation Trusts. Operating under legislation introduced in the Offender Management Act 2007, provision was made for all adult sexual offenders sentenced to 12 months or more for a sexual offence and released into the pilot areas to be required to comply with polygraph testing as one of their licence conditions. The pilot involved 332 offenders who were subject to the polygraph licence condition and 303 in a comparison group who were not. The independent evaluation of the pilot concluded that sexual offenders subject to testing made more than twice the number of clinically significant disclosures than those in the comparison group who had not been subject to polygraph testing. In particular, the evaluation showed that polygraph testing increased the likelihood of preventative actions being taken by offender managers that would contribute to greater protection of the public from harm. The full report is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-evaluation-of-the-mandatory-polygraph-pilot In response to the positive outcomes of the pilot, provisions of the Offender Management Act 2007 were commenced in 2014 to impose the polygraph on all high risk sexual offenders released on licence. With effect from August 2014, all high risk sex offenders on licence are subject to polygraph tests conducted by specially trained staff in the National Probation Service.

Secure Colleges

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the proposed Secure College is to be classified as a place of safety for children under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

Lord Faulks: We do not propose that the Secure College should be identified as a place of safety for children detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. The Mental Health Act Code of Practice, presented to Parliament in January this year, indicates that local authorities, NHS commissioners, hospitals and police forces should have a jointly agreed local policy in place governing the use of section 135 and 136 of the Act and that this should contain a list of identified places of safety. The Government has made clear that these should be a hospital or other health based place of safety where mental health services are provided, except in exceptional circumstances.

Ministry of Defence

Armoured Fighting Vehicles

Lord Stevens of Ludgate: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 23 February (HL4781), how many of the other armoured vehicles, totalling over 1,500, have been in service since the 1960s.

Lord Astor of Hever: 883 Bulldog armoured vehicles entered service in the 1960s. These vehicles, previously named AFV 432, underwent a substantial upgrade programme between 2006 and 2010 and are now expected to remain in service until 2030.

Type 26 Frigates

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the planned build rate for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

Lord Astor of Hever: The build rate of the Type 26 Global Combat Ships will be agreed at the programme's main gate decision point when the ship's design is sufficiently mature, the supply chain is fully mobilised and a full joint analysis of programme risk has been completed.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the unit price of each of the F35B aircraft so far purchased by the United Kingdom.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Department does not release detailed breakdowns of F-35 expenditure or future cost estimates as to do so could undermine its commercial position. However, within previous US Department of Defense (DoD) annual Selected Acquisition Reports (SAR) for the Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft the F-35B variant has previously been estimated as costing: $174 million for aircraft bought within Low Rate Initial Production lot three (LRIP 3), where the UK purchased two aircraft; $163 million for aircraft purchased within LRIP 4, where the UK purchased one aircraft; and $151 million for aircraft purchased in LRIP 7, where the UK purchased one aircraft. These are not the final settlement values as release of this information could undermine future contract negotiations.Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney have a track record for delivering the airframe and engine below US government SAR estimates with the F-35 unit cost continuing to reduce in line with the aircraft manufacture's predicted cost reduction profile. It should be noted that three of the UK's first four aircraft are instrumented test and evaluation aircraft, which are typically more expensive than operational aircraft.

Strategic Defence and Security Review

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the forthcoming Strategic Defence Review will be strategy or resource led.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Strategic Defence and Security Review will be conducted at broadly the same time as the Comprehensive Spending Review to ensure that our strategy is deliverable.

Aircraft Carriers

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the main purposes for which the new aircraft carriers will be used.

Lord Astor of Hever: With an expected service life of up to 50 years, the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers will be highly versatile and potent warships, able to meet the widest range of tasks around the world; to include carrier strike, support to amphibious operations, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and defence engagement.

Army Reserve

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the latest monthly figures for recruitment to the Army Reserve; and how they compare with recruitment targets.

Lord Astor of Hever: The UK Armed Forces Quarterly Personnel report, which is published by Defence Statistics, shows Reserve trained and untrained strength figures, as well as movements into the Future Reserves 2020 population.Target figures for recruiting and trained strength are defined for each Financial Year and were set out in the written ministerial statement and paper that the former Defence Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) released to the Library of the House on 19 December 2013, (Official Report, column 124WS).The trained strength of the Army Reserve as at 1 January 2015 was 20,480 against the March 2015 target of 19,900. The three months to 1 January 2015, intake in to the Army Reserve, trained and untrained strength, was 1,490. This is up from 600 in the equivalent period last year.The Ministry of Defence does not publish figures for individual months' intake to the Reserves.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether and where they have deployed military unmanned aerial vehicles in the last six months.

Lord Astor of Hever: UK Armed Forces used a variety of Unmanned and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (UAS/RPAS) on Operation HERRICK in Afghanistan. All of these systems were redeployed from Afghanistan by 31 December 2014. In October 2014, UK Reaper RPAS were deployed to the Middle East to support the Iraqi Government and coalition allies' ongoing operation to counter the threat of ISIL.Over the last six months Scan Eagle UAS has also been used to improve the situational awareness of Royal Navy ships at sea.

Ukraine

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much the deployment of Armed Forces personnel as trainers to Ukraine will cost.

Lord Astor of Hever: The costs of Ministry of Defence (MOD) support of this nature are compiled retrospectively on the basis of the net additional costs incurred. Since much of the necessary detail is still emerging, the net additional costs of the MOD's training assistance to Ukraine in financial year 2014-15 will not be available until after the end of the financial year.

Iraq

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many British military trainers and Armed Forces personnel are currently deployed to Iraq (including Kurdistan) to counter ISIL; and at what cost.

Lord Astor of Hever: As at 3 March 2015 there were 154 UK Armed Forces personnel deployed to Iraq in support of the Iraqi Government to counter ISIL.The net additional costs of training and equipping the Iraqi and Kurdish Security Forces as well as providing UK enablers is currently being met from the £50 million Deployed Military Activity Pool (DMAP). The net costings for UK military operational activity are published in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts after the end of each financial year.

Unidentified Flying Objects

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the 18 Ministry of Defence unexplained flying object files that have yet to be released to the public have been passed from the Ministry of Defence to the National Archives; what is their current estimate of when the National Archives will make the files public; and whether the files will be released in a single batch or in multiple batches.

Lord Astor of Hever: None of the 18 Ministry of Defence (MOD) unexplained flying object files have been passed from the MOD to The National Archives for release. The MOD is working with The National Archives to facilitate the transfer, which we estimate will be in the next 9-12 months. The release mechanism will then be agreed between the MOD and The National Archives.

Veterans

Lord Touhig: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Wallace of Saltaire on 2 March (HL Deb, col 6), when the programme of preparing servicemen and servicewomen to leave the services and return to civilian life was last reviewed and revised.

Lord Astor of Hever: Resettlement policy is continuously reviewed and updated, with the most recent update issued in February 2015.In his comprehensive 2014 review of transition arrangements, Lord Ashcroft concluded that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has robust measures in place which ensure that the vast majority of Service leavers make a successful transition to civilian life. Resettlement support is available for all Service leavers and can include training grants, allowances, travel warrants, resettlement leave, transition workshops, one-to-one career support, subsidised vocational training support, housing advice, financial briefs and employment support. This support is used by the vast majority of Service leavers and historically around 83% of those who look for work are in full-time employment within six months of leaving.With regard to the specific issue of veterans homelessness, we recognise that there are some who require additional support which is why the MOD provides extensive help to minimise the risk of military personnel becoming homeless on leaving the Armed Forces. This includes the provision of targeted housing advice and support during resettlement and the introduction in April 2014 of the £200 million Forces Help to Buy Scheme. The MOD also works closely with the Department for Communities and Local Government to honour the commitments made under the Armed Forces Covenant.In 2014, LIBOR funding was used to launch the £40 million Veterans Accommodation Fund (VAF). The most recently announced VAF project was £8.5 million to the Aldershot Accommodation Pathway, which caters for veterans making the transition from hostel accommodation to independent living. Approximately 275 vulnerable, injured or sick ex-Service personnel from across the country will benefit.

Type 45 Destroyers

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in fitting the co-operative engagement capability to Type 45 destroyers.

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Ministry of Defence is considering fitting land attack cruise missiles to Type 45 destroyers.

Lord Astor of Hever: There are currently no plans to fit either land attack cruise missiles or the co-operative engagement capability to the Type 45 Destroyer.The Type 45 Destroyer remains fully capable of delivering all military tasking.

Aircraft Carriers

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the flight deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth has had to have an extra steel covering because Sea Lightning jet efflux has proven more powerful than predicted.

Lord Astor of Hever: The Queen Elizabeth Class carrier Flight Deck steel remains the same thickness and specification as per the original contracted design; a design which catered for both F35 B and C variants from the outset.

Department for Work and Pensions

Jobseeker's Allowance Sanctions Independent Review

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which of the recommendations of the independent review by Matthew Oakley in July 2014 of the operation of Jobseeker’s Allowance sanctions validated by the Jobseekers Act 2013 have been implemented; and what plans there are to implement any outstanding recommendations.

Lord Freud: The Government has published our response to the Oakley Report and a copy can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332137/jsa-sanctions-independent-review-government-response.pdf We have accepted all recommendations made by the Oakley Report and we have already implemented a number of improvements. Our response sets out a number of target completion dates for recommendations made by the Oakley Report. In the Government Response to the Oakley Review we committed to report on the progress of the Communications Review by the end of 2014. The Department published an update on improvements to communications following the review, on 18 December 2014. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/387727/jsa-sanctions-independent-review-government-response-update.pdf We will continue to implement the remaining recommendations and will keep the House informed on progress.

Employment and Support Allowance

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will undertake an independent review of the operation of Employment and Support Allowance sanctions, with particular emphasis on their impact on those with mental health problems.

Lord Freud: As with all of our policies, we keep the operation of the sanctions system under review to ensure that it continues to operate effectively and as fairly as possible. We continue to make improvements to the sanctions system as committed to in our response to the Oakley Review. The Government has gone further than the scope of the Review, for example, we are reviewing all claimant communications and sanctions processes, not only for those Jobseekers Allowance claimants who come under the remit of the Review, but all Jobseekers Allowance claimants and also all Employment Support Allowance claimants.

Social Security Benefits

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to ensure benefits claimants facing hardship difficulties are provided with appropriate welfare advice by front-line Jobcentre Plus staff, and to publicise the availability of such advice.

Lord Freud: As part of helping claimants with employment-related support, Jobcentre Plus work coaches provide those facing ''hardship difficulties'' with appropriate information, advice and guidance. Depending upon individual circumstances, this could include information about and help to claim Hardship Payments (where a sanction has been applied), raising awareness of Short Term Benefit Advances for those awaiting initial payment of benefit; and signposting claimants to other sources of help available locally. As the support on offer is tailored to local need, Jobcentre Plus offices have the flexibility to promote these services through the means that best suits their local needs. This may include displaying leaflets or posters of the types of services on offer or holding a list of the different organisations providing support which will be issued to claimants in ‘’hardship’’.

National Insurance

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many National Insurance numbers were (1) created, and (2) deleted due to death, in each of the last 10 years; and what was the total number of valid numbers at the end of each year.

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the conditions in respect of (1) age, (2) nationality, (3) residence status, (4) tax status, and (5) identity, which have to be fulfilled before a National Insurance number is issued to an individual; and whether the Department for Work and Pensions seeks to verify those conditions with (a) the Home Office, (b) HM Revenue and Customs, (c) the Department of Health, and (d) the Department for Transport, before issuing such numbers.

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the issuing of National Insurance numbers is processed centrally for the whole of the United Kingdom or whether it is administered separately in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the administrative arrangements for notifying the Department for Work and Pensions of the death of holders of National Insurance numbers; and how soon after death they aim to be able to mark as deceased the records of the deceased person.

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many non-British nationals currently hold United Kingdom National Insurance numbers; and how many of those are citizens of other European Union countries and non-European Union countries respectively.

Lord Freud: The information relating to how many National Insurance numbers were created in the last 10 years could only be provided at disproportionate cost. For a National Insurance number to be allocated under the adult allocation process, which mainly affects adults entering the UK from abroad, an individual must be 16 or over, be able to prove their identity and immigration status. For employment related applications individuals must be able to prove that they have a legal right to work in the UK. There are no conditions for tax status. Information and documents provided to support a National Insurance number application are checked and corroborated with Other Government Departments and third parties. The only legislative conditions that DWP will seek to verify are with the Home Office. The allocation of National Insurance numbers under the adult allocation process is processed centrally for Great Britain but Northern Ireland is administered separately by the Department for Social Development Northern Ireland. Upon the death of an individual, DWP receive automatic updates from the three General Register Offices (GRO), England & Wales, Scotland on a daily basis and Northern Ireland on a weekly basis. DWP undertakes a rigorous matching process against the updates received from the GROs to ensure that DWP IT Customer Information System (CIS) records are annotated with the Date of Death within 24 hours of the GRO notification being received. Also when notified of a death DWP staff can input death data, as long as it is supported by appropriate documentation i.e. death certificate, which is updated in real time to the DWP IT Customer Information System. It is not possible to advise how many non-British nationals have UK National Insurance numbers.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

National Parks

Lord Greaves: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what advice they have given to National Park Authorities on (1) the disposal of land and in particular on publicising and allowing consultation on proposals for disposing of land before decisions are made, (2) the criteria that should be applied in deciding whether to dispose of particular pieces of land, and (3) the priorities that should be applied in such cases.

Lord De Mauley: The Local Government Act 1972 provides local authorities, including national parks, with the powers to dispose of land. It details the procedure to be followed in doing so, including the responsibility to advertise the disposal of any Open Space. ODPM Circular 06/2003 provides additional guidance on the disposal of land at less than best consideration.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Local Government

Lord Lexden: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support and champion England’s traditional counties.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: England’s traditional counties date back over a thousand years of English history, but many of the counties have been sidelined by Whitehall in recent decades, whether by the bland municipal restructuring of Edward Heath’s Government in 1972, or by the imposition of artificial regional structures by the last Labour Government based on the EU’s Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (the appropriately-named “NUTS” Regulations).  Yet the tapestry of England’s counties binds our nation together, and is interwoven with our cultural fabric – from our cricket to our ales. So this Government has taken a series of steps to champion our traditional counties: • We have amended planning regulations to allow local and county flags to be flown without planning permission, and published a plain English guide to flying flags. Previously, flying a county flag on an existing flag pole required a princely sum of £335 to be paid to the council.• We have supported the Flag Institute in publishing a new guide for would-be vexillologists to encourage a new wave of county and other local flags to be designed and flown. http://www.flaginstitute.org/wp/british-flags/creating-local-and-community-flags/• My Department has flown a range of county flags in Whitehall to mark different county days, including Cumberland, Huntingdonshire, Westmorland and Middlesex. We have also flown flags to celebrate other historic localities such as those of the Ridings of Yorkshire and of Wessex – the kingdom which gave birth to the united English nation.• We are changing highways regulations to allow traditional county names to appear on boundary road signs. The previous rules prevented unitary councils like Blackpool from having a road sign saying ‘Lancashire’, or Poole saying ‘Dorset’ – since they were not considered to be part of the ‘administrative county’.• We have a new online interactive map of England’s different county boundaries. http://communities.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Compare/storytelling_compare/index.html?appid=7b0e661ef66b4a7aacb5a9acf55108ac• Ordnance Survey, the Government’s National Mapping Agency, now provides a dataset of current, ceremonial counties (counties retained for the purposes of representing Her Majesty by Lord Lieutenants and High Sheriffs). http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/help-and-support/products/boundary-line.html• I can also announce to the House today that from May a dataset of the traditional, historic counties based on 19th Century boundaries will be available on the OS OpenData portal. These datasets are compatible with the OS Boundary-Line product which is available to all free of charge. Ordnance Survey is also going to provide a viewing map window on their website showing both the historic and ceremonial County boundaries on top of a base map.• Later in the year, Ordnance Survey is hoping to publish a paper map of the Historic Counties of England, Scotland and Wales (as defined in the Local Government Act 1888 for England and Wales and the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889 for Scotland), which will be available to the general public to purchase and proudly display.  We are stronger as a nation when we cherish and champion our local and traditional ties. This Government is proud to wave the flag of St George and Union flag alongside our county flags. Whatever one’s class, colour or creed, we should have pride in our English identity within the United Kingdom’s Union that binds us all together.

Sefton Park

Lord Storey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have had any discussion with Liverpool City Council about the sale of Liverpool Sefton Park Meadows land.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The Secretary of State has received a request to call in a planning application for residential dwellings at land off Park Avenue, Mossley Hill, Liverpool. I understand that this is generally referred to as Sefton Park Meadows.   The application is still under consideration by Liverpool City Council and it is not the policy of the Government to intervene at such an early stage in the process. In the meantime it would be inappropriate of me to comment on the application as it may come before the Secretary of State in the future.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Solar Power

Lord Donoughue: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proportion of solar panels in the United Kingdom include technologies incorporating (1) cadmium, and (2) cadmium telluride.

Baroness Verma: The Government does not keep statistics on the specific technology of installed solar panels.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Religion: Equality

Lord Maginnis of Drumglass: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, in the light of public sensitivity caused by Marks and Spencer's refusal to acknowledge and use the words "Jesus Christ" in a greeting attached to a gift purchased within its premises, they have issued guidance on the application of equality legislation to policies to be adopted by companies in respect of words and phrases they are prepared to reproduce when offering such a service; and if so, in what terms.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Statutory guidance about compliance with equality legislation is issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and is intended to give businesses and service providers the information they need to understand the Act and meet their responsibilities. A copy of the guidance can be found at:http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/publication/services-public-functions-and-associations-statutory-code-practice  The Government has no current plans to supplement this guidance.

Department of Health

Naloxone

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are taking to improve access to Naloxone in England.

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have given consideration to making Naloxone an over-the-counter drug in England.

Lord Ramsbotham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether draft regulations for making Naloxone more widely available will be published in draft ahead of the October 2015 implementation, to enable organisations including police, hostels and drugs misuse services to make advance plans.

Earl Howe: Naloxone has a vital role in saving lives and we are committed to widening its use in England. We have accepted the recommendation from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to make this life-saving medicine available more widely and Departmental officials are drafting new regulations to give effect to this decision. This legislative change is due to commence in October 2015.   Public Health England has recently published advice for commissioners and providers on the provision of take-home naloxone for reversing overdose in people who use heroin and other opiates, so that commissioners and providers can take action, both now and following the October 2015 legislative change, to widen the supply of naloxone.   In addition, the issue of naloxone supply is also being considered by the independent expert group updating the 2007 drug misuse clinical guidelines, Drug Misuse and Dependence: UK Guidelines on Clinical Management.   As it is formulated as an injectable medicine, naloxone does not meet the criteria set out in legislation for classification as an over-the-counter medicine.   Amended regulations will be publicly available when they are laid before Parliament.

Embryos

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 24 February (HL4885), whether the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is required to maintain records regarding the size of embryos; if so, what is the mean, median and standard deviation for the diameter of (1) embryos transferred, (2) embryos stored for research, and (3) embryos allowed to perish; and if not, how providing a repeated reference to the size of an embryo has been considered to be relevant to the number of embryos destroyed when no such request for information regarding the size of embryos was previously made.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that it is not required to maintain records regarding the size of embryos.   With regard to the size of the embryo, I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 24 February 2015 (HL4885).

Embryos

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 24 February (HL4885), whether the reference to reconciliation work performed on the data by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) indicates that previously supplied figures have been inaccurate; if so, what is the extent to which the HFEA has provided inaccurate information and who accepts responsibility for this; and why the embryos stored for research are not included among the number of embryos allowed to perish if embryos used in research are not allowed to persist beyond 14 days.

Earl Howe: The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has advised that data it has supplied in response to any given question is correct when it is provided. Such data may change slightly over time. The supplied figures were not inaccurate and responsibility for inaccuracy does not, therefore, arise. Embryos stored for research are not, by definition, perished until they are used.

Human-animal Hybrid Embryos

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they now have to repeal those provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 which permit the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos.

Earl Howe: The Government has no plans to repeal the provisions in question.